


You Must Know That You Are My Friend

by Fizzingwizzbees14



Series: Yeah, baby (A Collection of Bi!Carl Stories) [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Sex Mentions, Smoking, Swearing, carl gallagher has no problem with anything as usual, emily enjoys writing about carl, i promised to write a risen fic but nope, ian and carl talk about things ya, kinda a character study but nr, kinda? yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 08:19:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3929686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fizzingwizzbees14/pseuds/Fizzingwizzbees14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carl Gallagher wasn’t exactly one for keeping things quiet, per se. </p><p>	Not that he couldn’t keep secrets. You tell him something, and make him swear not to tell another living soul, it will never leave his lips from that day until the day that he dies. And it’s not just secrets, either. He’s pretty tactile; he knows when to say something and when not to. Teachers can say what they want, he wasn’t stupid. </p><p>	But if it was something like being bi, for instance, he didn’t really understand why it had to be kept quiet in the first place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Must Know That You Are My Friend

Carl Gallagher wasn’t exactly one for keeping things _quiet,_ per se.

 

            Not that he couldn’t keep secrets. You tell him something, and make him swear not to tell another living soul, it will never leave his lips from that day until the day that he dies. And it’s not just secrets, either. He’s pretty tactile; he knows when to say something and when not to. Teachers can say what they want, he wasn’t stupid.

 

            But if it was something like being bi, for instance, he didn’t really understand _why_ it had to be kept quiet in the first place.

 

            He didn’t exactly have a formal coming out experience; kinda like Ian, he just did his thing and eventually they caught on. Lip did make a comment on how he was going through a ‘gay phase’ when he brought a boy with light brown skin and dull blonde hair home, but a quick punch from Carl and a stern talking to from Ian stopped him from trying anything like it again. One of the boys- Eli, one of the ones who stuck around- after pizza one night, told Carl that he hadn’t come out as bi to his parents yet because they were really homophobic, and Carl couldn’t even imagine living in a family like that. He knew that Mickey had gone through it- knew all of Terry Milkovich’s shit had caught Ian in it’s path, and that he end up hurt because of it- but it didn’t seem the same. Terry Milkovich was loud about his hate, whereas Eli’s parents were sly, and quiet.

 

            “That’s the worse kinda hate,” Ian said over a smoke one day, “The kind like Lip’s, you know? They don’t know they’re doing it. At least Lip’s trying to change.”

 

            Carl had just nodded.

 

            It occurred to him that his crew- the guys working for G-Dog and the guys he was in juvie with- might not be up for an LGBTQA member of the gang. He tried to stop himself worrying- repeated something Ian had said about not want people who couldn’t except you in your life, but it worried him.

 

            “What if they think I wanna bang them?” he asked Ian. It was around midnight and he’d just got back from Quentin Reynolds- study group, though his hand had trailed slightly too high up Q’s thigh for it to be proper- and he realized he’d been lucky when it came to the guys he’d been hitting on.

 

            “Do you wanna bang any of them?”

 

            “Nah,” he caught himself, “I mean, Diane is nice, but I don’t think they’ll worry too much about me wanting to bang her.”

 

            Ian laughed, “Some of these guys were in juvie with you, man. Don’t they know you were banging half the building?”

 

            “Yeah. But so were they, though. Like, everyone was banging in juvie. It’s just stress relief, like jerking off or smoking pot. And maybe, if I was just jerking dudes off, they wouldn’t give a shit, but I’m not, you know?” he flicked his half-gone cigarette out the window, “I dated Paul for three and a half months, man. And then I dated Robin Snyder for a couple weeks, you know? I’m _with_ these people, bro.”

 

            Ian nodded, “That’s what Mickey had a problem with. Fucking him in the ass was nothing, but kissing? And like, spooning and shit? Too fuckin’ gay, apparently,” he put an arm around Carl’s shoulders, ”But that was ‘cause of Terry. I bet if those guys have a problem with you being bi, it’s ‘cause they don’t understand shit properly. And if you try to explain and they don’t listen, then what’s the point of being friends with them, man?”

 

            Carl knew he was gonna say something like that. What Ian didn’t get- couldn’t understand, because Carl didn’t really- was that some of the guys would be okay with it. Ilana and Borago and Perry, they’d all be cool. Hell, Carl and Kerria, Ilana’s sister, had a bet on for how long it’d take for Ilana and Perry to declare their love for one another. But the others- Kuniko, whose parents are first generation Japanese immigrants and conservative and freaked the fuck out when she cut her hair, and Uriah, who calls everything he doesn’t like gay, and Persephone, who’s real name is Cory, who called Borago a fag once because he wore a pink baseball cap to church once- he’s scared that he’ll end up with half a friend group. That Borago will have to choose, and end up choosing wrong. He’s not afraid of losing dicky friends- just afraid that he’ll end up on his own again.

 

The next night he goes around to Veronica Snow’s house and makes out with her until her parents get home. He liked Veronica Snow, but not as much as he liked Q, or Paul.

 

Maybe he leaned more towards guys- and what’s wrong with that? Maybe he was a slut for jerking three different people off in the same week, and fingering another? Boy or girl, what does it matter? Everybody’s got something they like done to them, and if they don’t, then that’s fine, too. Carl gets that. Can everybody else get that? He’s sick of changing pronouns when everybody’s bragging about their conquests. He seduced the hot guy in his bio class into giving him a blowjob, and the pretty girl with dark brown eyes he met in the store on Tuesday into making out with him in the parking lot, what the fuck is wrong with that?

 

What the fuck is wrong with everybody else, is all he could think to ask himself.

 

                                                                       ##################################                                             

 

“Hey, Carl.” Borago said, after opening his door, and leading Carl up the stairs. Borago was a kinda pudgy guy with dark brown skin and wavy, black hair. His hazel eyes always shone in the light, kinda like amber glow sticks. He was a kleptomaniac, and he collected strange plants.

 

“How’s Beryl?” Carl asked, pointing to the potted green thing on the other boy’s windowsill.

 

“She doing real fine,” Borago crossed his arms, and leant against the desk, “What did you wanna talk about? You sounded pretty serious on the phone, what’s up?”

 

Carl had been biting his nails all morning thinking about this. He thought Borago would be cool with it- but you can never really know. Ian had asked him if he wanted somebody to wait outside in case things got messy.

“Yeah, B. It’s not- it’s not a big deal, or anything, but I wanted you to know- want everybody to know, but I thought I’d tell you first.”

 

Borago went from looking concerned to looking ecstatic in a second, “Really?” He had this way of rolling his r’s that was adorable, “What is it?”

 

Carl took a deep breath, “I’m- uh- yeah, I’m bi.”

 

Borago just looked confused, “Whadaya mean? _Bipolar?”_ panic flashed in his eyes, “You said your brother was, I just- are you okay? Are they taking you away?”

 

Carl shook his head, and wondered who ‘they’ were, “No, B. Like- like bisexual, dude.”

 

Borago visibly relaxed, “Don’t do that shit, man! Seriously, you had me, like, worried,” the other boy brushed his hair out of his eyes, “Yeah, man, that’s cool. Your folks cool?”

 

Carl nodded, “Yeah, no, they’ve known for a while. You’re seriously cool with all this?”

 

Borago nodded, “Mm hmm.”

 

“Will the others be?”

 

The other boy looked to the ceiling, “I dunno. I think so. Maybe not Persephone, but we’ve been looking for a reason to get rid of her.”

 

Carl laughed, “Okay, then.”

 

 

It wasn’t like, a party. At least that’s what Carl told Fiona. And it wasn’t, there were barely ten people there. And there wasn’t that much of a mess, but, then, Carl hadn’t ventured into either of the bathrooms yet, so.

 

            “So anyway,” Persephone laughed, “This guy- like, obviously gay- comes up to me and asks if he can buy me a drink. Like, he’s wearing a shirt he _obviously_ bought in Forever 21, so I say yeah, and then go to the other end of the bar. And all night, this fucking fag is like-“

 

            “Wow,” Carl said, alcohol and good weed and too much confidence in the first place making him _so ready for this,_ “Why does having a shirt from Forever 21 make him gay? And even if you hadn’t said that extremely offensive thing- how do you know he’s gay? Like, unless he comes up and goes, ‘Yeah, I’m gay’, then how would you know?” he took a sip of his beer, with the entire group (other than Borago, who was eating chips) staring at him.

 

            “What are you, man?” Uriah asked, “Fuckin’ gay or somethin’?”

 

            Carl scoffed, “No. But my fuckin’ brother is. And I’m fucking _bi,_ for you information.”

 

            Uriah’s eyes got very big, “Oh, shit man. Sorry, I didn’t- shit,”

           

            Carl hadn’t been expecting an apology. Uriah- flirty, odd-looking Uriah- was a bumbling, kind person, but he was still pretty deeply South Side. People can surprise you, though, “Like, how long have you known, man?”

 

            “Uh,” Carl hadn’t thought this far ahead, “Like, since juvie, man.”

 

            “Oh,” Uriah said, “Nice.” Persephone looked like she was going to say something, but Uriah shot her a look so dirty Carl was surprised it didn’t stain the carpet.

 

            “So, anyone want some coke?” Ilana said, feet in Perry’s lap. Everyone replied in the negative.

 

            Carl couldn’t seem to blink, or shut his mouth, but he caught another beer from Kuniko when it came flying towards him.

 

#############################################

 

“Uriah,” Carl said, after most people had gone, and Uriah was putting on his khaki jacket, (it was funny, Carl thought, how he’s never noticed muscular turn of his shoulders, and how thick and strong his thighs were), “Uh, thanks, man. For before.”

 

Uriah shrugged, “It’s cool.”

 

They stood there awkwardly for a couple seconds before Uriah spoke, “My brother- Porthos- he’s gay. And trans, to boot.” he scuffed the floor with the toe of his shoe, “I learnt pretty early on not to give anyone shit for who they are. It’s cool, man, do what you want.”

 

“And if that thing was you,” Carl said, carefully, “Or say, Diane, would you still be cool?” _What did I just do,_ Carl thought, _Am I posing a question on his beliefs or am I hitting on him._

“You wanna do me?” Uriah asked, and he shrugged, “Hey, I’m always lookin’ to try somethin’ new.” He smiled, and bumped Carl on the shoulder, “Nah, man, I’m hella straight, But I’m cool talking about that stuff, still. I heard you were study grouping with Q Reynolds, something going on there?”

 

Carl laughed in disbelief, “Maybe, I dunno. He let me touch the inside of his thigh, but nothin’ more. I get the feeling he’s a classy guy.”

 

Uriah slapped him and the shoulder and said goodbye.

 

A lot of the time, people can surprise you.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little thing with some more bi!carl bc you can never have too much bi carl in your life. Hope you enjoyed!! Come see me on tumblr at punk-and-teacups.tumblr.com


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